Passive skills have had a long and storied history. When Diablo III debuted at the WWI 2008, skill trees included passive skills, much like in Diablo II. In 2010, it was announced that passive skills had been renamed traits and separated out from active skills. At the July 2011 Press Event, Blizzard announced that passive skills were once again in the game, replacing the traits system.

Combination Strike was not seen until it showed up in the late Diablo III beta at level 30, replacing the Beacon of Ytar passive skill (which was later reintroduced). It was later dropped to level 25, and when passives were reorganized for Beta Patch 14, Combination Strike was moved up to level 50.